


fire and rain

by thunderylee



Category: Good Charlotte
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Canon Universe, M/M, Twincest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-11
Updated: 2006-03-11
Packaged: 2019-02-08 01:07:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12853440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: In the darkness you will find dirty little secrets we all hide.





	fire and rain

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck.

_Strong arms lowered him down onto the bed._

_Soft, chapsticked lips pressed roughly against his as his body was covered from head to toe._

_Skilled hands unfastened buttons and removed clothing until nothing separated their naked flesh except the sweat of their desire._

_Hardnesses ground against each other, tongues collided, and fingers probed._

_He pushed against them, wimpering pitifully._

_The fingers disappeared and he was left with a sudden sense of emptiness, which completely subsided when they were replaced with something much larger._

_The body on top of his shuddered violently as he was filled over and over again. An usually deep voice chanted his name like a mantra._

_“Joel.”_

_“Joel.”_

_“Joel.”_

“Joel!”

Joel’s eyes flew open and he gave an involuntary jerk at the pressure on his shoulder and the short distance which separated his brother’s face from his.

“Go away or I’ll breathe on you,” Joel mumbled, wrinkling his nose at his own morning breath.

“Happy birthday to you too, asshole.”

Benji offered a rare grin, to which Joel grunted irritably and attempted to pull the covers over his head.

“Come on, Joel, it’s almost noon.”

Benji wrenched the covers out of Joel’s grip and tore them completely off of the bed, leaving Joel in a state of coldness and slight amusement as Benji’s hands immediately jumped to his face.

“What? I have clothes on.”

As a snort escaped from beneath the tattooed hands, Joel realized that his brother was unsuccessfully trying not to laugh. “Did you have a nice dream there, Joel? Or maybe you’re just happy to see me?” He looked like he was about to fall over from his efforts.

Joel looked down to where his traitorous erection was straining prominently against the flap of his boxers.

“I am _definitely_ not happy to see you,” he said dryly, ignoring the nagging thought that this statement was only half-true.

Benji shook his head and lowered his hands to reveal a flushed face. “Well, it’s good to know you can still get it up at twenty-seven.”

Joel rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. “Fuck off,” he said bitterly, although his voice was muffled severely.

“Who were you dreaming about, Joely?” Benji teased as he dropped all of his weight onto the mattress. He bounced fiercely, causing Joel’s body to almost fly off of the bed.

“I hate it when you call me that.” Joel was still speaking into his pillow, but he knew Benji would understand him. “And stop fucking rocking or I’m going to puke on you.”

“You know, you’re awfully crabby for someone who just had an explicit sex dream. Who was it?”

“None of your business.”

An overwhelming need for air made Joel turn his head, just in time to see Benji feigning hurt. “But Joel, I’m your _brother_. Consider it a birthday present, since I know you didn’t get me one.”

“You want me to tell you about my sex dream in lieu of a birthday present,” Joel said slowly, raising an eyebrow. “And how do you know I didn’t get you one?”

“Because you never do,” Benji replied simply. “You usually just pay for something I want when we’re out and call it a present.”

“You act like you don’t do the same thing.”

“For your information, I have gotten you a present this year. But you’re not getting it until you tell me who your dream was about. ‘Cause I know it wasn’t Hilary.” He smirked knowingly.

Joel inwardly weighed his options. He could stand his ground and not get his present, or he could make it up. If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit that he was dying of curiosity. Plus, he liked presents. Either way, he would never in his lifetime confess the true identity of his dream lover.

“Hilary and Haylie,” Joel invented, sighing for effect. “Both of them. Together.”

Benji nodded in approval. “Nice,” he commented. “Did they do stuff with each other? ‘Cause that’s hot.”

“Benji, they’re _sisters_.” Joel made a disgusted face. “How would you like it if people thought about us… doing stuff?”

He hadn’t meant it to come out like that, but Benji didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m sure they do, Joel,” he said in an exasperated voice, like he was trying to explain why two plus two equals four. “What makes it a _fantasy_ is thinking it will never happen. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It’s just a dream anyways, you know?”

“I guess,” said Joel distractedly, searching his brain for some way to change the topic. “Why are you here?”

“It’s our _birthday_ , dipshit.” Benji grinned brightly.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Joel rubbed his temples in annoyance. “The party doesn’t start for hours. Why are you here _now_?”

“I’d like to spend the afternoon with my brother,” Benji replied, a sting of pain in his voice. “I tried to call you, but after the seventh time I figured you’d turned off your phone.”

“Right again.” Joel reached his arm in the general direction of the nightstand where he had left his cell phone. A few empty grabs later, he felt the slim object and pulled it towards him, squinting his eyes to see against the glowing light. Twenty-seven missed calls. “Everyone wanting to wish me a happy birthday, I guess.” He grunted bitterly.

“Yeah, Mom was surprised we weren’t together when she called me an hour ago. She made me come over here to make sure you weren’t dead.”

Joel snorted. “That’s real nice, Benj.”

“Seriously,” Benji persisted. “Hilary called me freaking out because you weren’t answering your phone and you were supposed to meet her at nine -”

“Oh, _shit_ ,” groaned Joel, clapping his hand to his forehead. “I knew I had something to do this morning.”

“- and she drove over here and you didn’t answer the door and of course she doesn’t have a key,” Benji finished quickly, and Joel had a feeling he was relaying Hilary’s exact words. “You are the worst boyfriend ever.”

“I have to call her.” Finding a sudden amount of energy, Joel sat up and rolled out of bed. “You call Mom so she doesn’t think I’m dead.”

“Will do,” said Benji, oblivious to the sarcasm in his brother’s voice.

Speed-dialing his girlfriend’s number, Joel stumbled into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and cringed.

“Joel? Oh, my God, Joel. Is it really you?”

Joel couldn’t help but smile at the concern in Hilary’s voice. “Yes, honey, it’s me. I’m so sorry. I overslept.”

“Did you get my messages? That movie we wanted to see is playing at three-thirty. It lets out at five-fifteen, which should give us enough time to get ready for the party.”

Hilary was talking at such a rapid pace that Joel’s brain almost couldn’t process her words. “Actually, Hil, Benji is here and he wanted to spend the afternoon with me. Can we hang out tomorrow?”

She sighed, and Joel knew it was because there was no way he’d be up before noon the day after a party. “Of course,” she replied finally. “You should hang out with your brother. It’s his birthday too, after all. I completely forgot to mention it when I spoke with him earlier, so would you wish him happy birthday for me?”

“Sure.”

She paused. “I’m surprised Benji actually drove over there. It’s pouring outside and I know how he hates driving in the rain.”

Joel frowned. Benji did hate driving in the rain. He must have really been worried.

It took another five minutes to wrap up his conversation, even after several promises to set an alarm the next morning. The minute he placed his phone down on the counter, he heard a knock at the door.

“Joel?” called Benji’s voice from the other side. “Mom wants to talk to you, but not if you’re taking a shit.”

Joel laughed. “Tell her I’ll call her in an hour then.”

Benji sounded highly amused as he relayed the message and walked away from the door. The last thing Joel heard was, “How should I know what he ate last night?”

Joel stared at his reflection for a moment before brushing his teeth and starting the shower. As he stepped out of his boxers, he noticed that he still had an erection and cursed whoever was responsible for inventing morning wood. There was only one way to take care of it, and at this thought graphic images from his dream began resurfacing full force. Joel shook his head violently and tried to visualize his girlfriend and her sister together, just to see what all the fuss was about. It didn’t do anything for him, but then again Benji had always been more on the freaky side. Thinking of Benji was a bad idea, though, because the dream images flashed behind his eyes again. Hilary. He would fantasize about Hilary.

Hilary. Hilary in her naughty negligee, her hair down and wild, looking up at him with bedroom eyes. Hilary on her knees, teasing him with her fingertips and the swift flick of her tongue. Hilary’s mouth encasing him, her lips sliding up and down while creating an air-tight suction with her mouth.

“Joel?” a faraway voice sounded.

Hilary’s face morphed. Joel squinted his eyes tight as though it were happening right in front of him, but he was too close to stop. His imagination completely took over. He felt piercings scraping along the underside of his flesh and a slick finger inching between his legs. The thick, manly finger pushed its way inside him and wriggled around, followed by a second.

“Joel?”

Joel bit into his fist as he came forcefully, almost losing his balance in the process. “What?” he replied bitterly, struggling to catch his breath.

“Where do you keep the candles?”

“What?” Joel repeated, confused.

The door opened and Benji poked his head into the steamy bathroom. “Wow, masturbation really does make you go blind. The power’s out, genius. I want to light some candles so we don’t fall down the stairs and kill ourselves. It wouldn’t make for a fun birthday.”

“I don’t think I own any.” Joel braced himself against the shower wall with both hands.

“Yes, you do,” insisted Benji. “Mom bought us both a bunch when we moved out in case this shit ever happened. Remember? We argued that we were her sons, not her daughters, but ended up burning a few of them anyways because they smelled good. Or did your memory go down the drain along with our DNA?”

“Kitchen drawer, next to the dishwasher,” Joel said loudly. He could feel his face heat up from the discovery that Benji knew what he had been doing.

“So I have to fall down the stairs and kill myself before I can get to them?”

“Give me a damn minute and I’ll get them.”

Joel turned off the shower and reached for his towel. Drying off was an interesting procedure in the pitch black; even though his bathroom contained several windows and it was the middle of the afternoon, it appeared to be just as dark outside.

“Bad storm?” he called out to Benji, who had decided to give Joel some privacy and wait in the bedroom. Joel was grateful for this, even though it would have been impossible for his brother to see anything.

“Apparently.” Benji’s voice faded as he crossed the room, presumably to peer through the window. “It was just raining hard when I was on my way over, but there’s some lightning now. And it looks like your entire street is without power too.”

“Great,” moaned Joel, reaching blindly into his closet for something to wear. “One of my asshole neighbors would have probably already called the electric company then.”

“Yeah,” agreed Benji. “Nothing to do but wait it out, I guess. If we make it downstairs alive and light some candles, I can give you your present.”

Joel shivered at the innuendo behind those words but quickly dismissed it. Once dressed, he felt his way out of the bathroom and forced his eyes to grow accustomed to the lack of light.

“Benj? Where are you?”

“Right here.”

Joel almost jumped out of his skin as Benji’s voice spoke from right next to him.

“Aw, is widdle Joely scared of the dark?”

“I didn’t hear you cross the room,” Joel mumbled defensively.

“That’s ’cause I have the stealth of a _cat_.” Joel could almost see his brother grinning.

“Whatever. Let’s go.”

Joel started to feel his way towards the hallway, but stopped in his tracks when he felt a hand grasp his arm.

“What?” said Benji innocently. “If I fall down the stairs, you’re coming with me.”

“Thanks,” Joel replied dryly.

Joel suddenly wished he spent more time at home and knew his way around his house better. He ran into several walls and a particularly painful corner of an end table which sent something sailing over the balcony. Behind him, Benji wasn’t saying a word, and it occurred to Joel that maybe _Benji_ was the one who was scared, although he would never admit it.

A flash of lightning illuminated the entire house through the skylights, and Joel could maneuver their way towards the staircase. He was very careful to keep one hand firmly on the banister while the other was engaged in some sort of deathgrip with his brother’s. They reached the landing without incident and continued silently towards the bottom, where Joel had to test the space in front of him several times to make sure there weren’t anymore steps.

Now that the life-threatening situation was over, Joel quickened his pace and jogged towards the kitchen, snagging his hip on the back of his couch and knocking over something else on the way. Again, Benji said nothing but held onto Joel’s hand as though he’d be lost otherwise.

It took a couple tries to actually find the candles – they weren’t in the drawer next to the dishwasher after all – but eventually Joel discovered them in the back of the pantry and automatically reached into his pocket for a lighter.

“Shit, my lighter is outside on the patio.” He looked longfully towards the back door like it would magically soar through the wall.

“I’ve got one,” spoke up Benji.

Some rustling followed as Benji was presumably checking all ten pockets on his pants before he found what he was looking for. He placed the lighter firmly into Joel’s palm, and Joel wasted no time in lighting one of the candles. They were the old-fashioned longer candles which needed their own holders, but the twins’ mother had also thought about that and given them each a set of metal candle holders with a handle to carry it around safely.

“I should call Mom and thank her,” Benji said quietly, echoing Joel’s thoughts.

“I have to call her anyway,” said Joel. He handed the first candle to Benji and lit a second one for himself, pretending not to notice Benji’s relief from finally being able to see. “Can I use your phone? I left mine upstairs.”

“Um… so did I.”

“Shit.”

“Don’t you have a corded phone?”

“No. They’re all cordless.”

Benji shook his head and sighed. Joel could barely see him in the dim light of the flame, but he knew damn well that Benji didn’t have any corded phones over at his house either. In fact, he didn’t think his brother even had a house phone. The only reason Joel did was so that he had a number to give people he really didn’t want to talk to, since he was hardly ever home.

Benji looked like he was trying to walk in skis as he slowly made his way back towards the living room and settled into the loveseat by the fireplace, hugging the candle to his chest. “Hey, does this thing work?”

“I would think so, being that the house cost more because of it,” Joel answered, walking towards his brother but not sitting down. “I’ve never used it, though. It might even be electric.”

Joel frowned as Benji’s face fell. He could tell that his brother had been looking forward to having more light. “You could have a look at it if you want.”

Benji stood up and crept cautiously towards the fireplace, still holding onto the candle. “I watched Tony light one once when we were over at his cousin’s house. It can’t be that hard.”

Flopping down on the now vacant loveseat, Joel placed his candle on the end table and desperately tried to look anywhere but directly in front of him, where Benji was bent over the fireplace surveying his options.

A few muffled swear words later, Benji stepped back and a weak fire sparked from inside the fireplace. “Got any lighter fluid?” he asked seriously.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Benj.” Joel raised an eyebrow.

Benji shrugged and returned to the loveseat, staring at the fire as though that would make it brighter. Since there was nothing else to look at but Benji himself, Joel settled for following his brother’s gaze and watching the embers slowly but surely encompass the remaining logs.

Joel had no idea how much time had passed or even what time it was now because he hadn’t thought to put on his watch after his shower. He did, however, feel Benji’s head drop onto his shoulder and hear a whiney voice say, “I’m _bored_.”

Chuckling, Joel shrugged him away. “You can give me my present.”

Benji jumped up. “I left it on the table in the entrance hall. I’ll get it.” He took his candle and disappeared. A few moments later, a thin rectangular object dropped into Joel’s lap from behind the loveseat. It caught Joel by surprise and he almost dropped it.

“It’s nothing really expensive,” Benji said in a rushed voice, hopping over the back of the loveseat and settling himself against the arm. “You know we don’t usually buy stuff for each other ’cause we already have whatever we want. But I found this on the Internet and thought of you.”

Joel thought that nothing good could result from that last statement, but he turned his head to find Benji looking at him expectantly. After a brief hesitation, he ripped off the badly wrapped paper and let it carelessly fall to the floor as he saw what was inside.

It was a [picture](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/crystallekil/teh%20pretty/529de5dd.jpg) of them from back when they were a year out of high school, back when all they had were dreams about being where they are today. Outlined by a polished wood frame, the picture had been enhanced perfectly with calligraphy text added.

_Joel,_

_No matter how famous we are or how much money we have, don’t forget who we are or where we came from. Or who has been standing beside you since the beginning. We started this together and no matter what happens, I will always be there for you. From the cradle to the grave, I’m your brother for life._

_Love,  
Benji_

Joel’s hands started shaking uncontrollably as he finished reading the note. Trying to fight back the tears from his eyes, he looked over at Benji and mumbled, “Thanks.”

Smiling, Benji reached over and pried one of Joel’s hands away from the picture. It immediately stopped shaking. Interlacing their fingers together, Benji whispered, “Happy birthday, Joel.”

A loud roar of thunder clapped suddenly and Joel found himself with a lapful of Benji. Stifling a laugh into his brother’s hair, Joel placed the picture next to his candle and wrapped his arms comfortingly around his twin. “When are you gonna admit you’re scared of storms?”

Benji rested his head on Joel’s shoulder. “When you admit who you were _really_ dreaming about this morning.”

“Point taken.”

His gaze trained on the crackling fire, Joel slowly rocked Benji in his arms as the thunder boomed continuously and the rain pounded against the skylights. He felt each rise and fall of Benji’s chest as he breathed along with his heartbeat, both of which were completely normal despite the storm getting worse.

Joel didn’t feel that admitting the identity of his dream lover to Benji was anywhere near the same as Benji admitting that he was actually scared of something, but he appreciated his twin’s understanding anyway. Of course, it would be obvious to anyone that Benji was not as hardcore as he’d like people to think, but then again he appeared to already know Joel’s secret and didn’t seem bothered by it, nor did he seem keen on pushing it.

Maybe next year.


End file.
